Musical comb



Nov. 21, 1950 F. GRETSCH, JR 2,531,212

MUSICAL COMB Filed Nov. 24; 1945 INVENTOR. fimgrk M, r

Patented Nov. 21, 1950 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE MUSICAL COMB Application November 24, 1945, Serial No. 630,620

1 Claim.

My invention relates to combs adapted for the production of musical sounds and refers particularly to combs of the character described so constructed that a sheet of'paper necessary in the production of such sounds is maintained in position upon the comb during a musical performance therewith.

It is well known that musical sounds can be produced by means of an ordinary hair comb, and especially with fine tooth combs, and this is accomplished by foldinga sheet of thin paper over the back of the comb, allowing it to cover,

one side, or both sides'lof the'xcoinb, and then holding the comb close to the mouth and making the musical sounds against the sheet of paper.

During this method of procedure, however, the paper has a tendency to slip from the comb, requiring the operator to hold itmanually upon the comb, and the devices of my invention are directed to means for overcoming this difiiculty.

My invention, therefore, is directed to combs adapted for the production of musical sounds in which the sheet of paper is held mechanically upon the comb durin its employment.

Another object of my invention is devices in which the mechanical means for maintaining a sheet of paper thereon does not interfer with the efiiciency of the comb when used upon hair in the usual manner.

The novelty and usefulness of the devices of my invention will be evident upon a consideration of my specification and its accompanying drawings, in which similar parts are designated by similar numerals.

Figure 1 is a side view of one form of a device of my invention.

Figure 2 is a side view of the device of Figure 1 with a sheet of paper therein.

Figure 3 is a section through the line 3--3 of Figure 2, with the sheet of paper coverin two sides of the comb teeth.

Figure 4 is a section through the line 3-3 of Figure 2 with the sheet of paper covering one side of the comb teeth.

The particular form of a device of my invention illustrated in Figure l of the accompanying drawings comprises a comb having a base member ID carrying a plurality of teeth II, II, said base member having the elongated openin l2.

A paper retainer member 13 is pivotally attached to the base member by means of the pivot pin l4, said paper retaining member I3 being such size and construction that it can be moved in a plane perpendicular to the base member l0, and that when it is positioned within the opening 12 of the base member 10 it will frictionally retain a sheet of paper l5 from accidental withdrawal.

In the device of Figure 3, the paper is retained by the abutment of the member l3 upon the paper I 5 causing the latter to abut upon the edge surface of the opening 12.

In the device of Figure 4 the paper is maintained in position by the abutment of the member 13 upon two sides of the paper l5 causing the abutment of the paper upon both the lower edge surface and the upper edge surface of the opening It is evident, therefore, that during the production of musical sounds upon the combs of my invention the paper will be retained upon the comb without manual efforts upon the part of the performer.

What I claim is:

A hair comb comprising an elongated base member carrying a plurality of teeth, said base member having an elongated opening therein formed longitudinally along the base and transverse to the teeth, said opening extending completely through the base member from one side to the other side thereof, a paper retainin member pivotally mounted upon said base member and adapted for disposition within said opening so as to be flush with the sides of said base member, a pin in said base member extendin transversely through said elongated opening for pivotally carrying said retaining member, said retaining member being of such size that when the retaining member is moved in a plane perpendicular to the plane of the base member and into said base opening it will retain a sheet of paper passed through said opening and positioned between said retaining member and an edge or said opening.

FRED GRETSCH, JR.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 694,934 Machado Mar. 4, 1902 2,168,804 Payson Aug. 8, 1939 2,383,713 Dapolito Aug. 28, 1945 

